Election results unchanged by presidential recount

MADISON, Wis. — When all the ballots cast in Wisconsin for the presidential race were recounted, President-elect Donald Trump increased his margin of victory over Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton by 131 votes.

The recount, requested by Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and the first of its kind in Wisconsin, wrapped up Monday in Dane County.

“I think we have a very efficient process in place, and a citizen should be reassured by a really honest process that is already underway, so I would be surprised if there were any big surprises,” tabulator Deb Sutinan said.

More than 450,000 votes in Dane County were recounted after Stein’s campaign expressed concerned that voting machines in Wisconsin were hacked.

“The results will show that the machines are extremely accurate. There will be a few ballots where people marked it creatively. They may have voted for Trump and then written in Trump and that fools the machine, but with voter intent law in Wisconsin, that means if I can figure out what you meant, we’ll add it,” Dane County Clerk Scott McDonnell said. “So there will be a handful of that all over the state and they usually wash out almost exactly as the vote total went the night of. It’ll move slightly but very, very, very little.”

Observer Maria Milsted said she believes the recount adds another layer of accuracy to the election.

“If it leads to voters feeling more comfortable, than why not? Just so it’s fair. I also think that being able to recount by machine, the way it was originally done is better and much faster and more economical than the way that is being done now, one by one,” she said.

When all the votes were counted, Trump gained 874 votes and Stein gained 66 votes.